Tussle between bike renting bodies hits tourists going to Ladakh

MANALI: If the Sarchu border imbroglio between Ladakh and Himachal were not enough, now there's another dispute that has stirred a controversy. This time it is about not letting motorbikes from Himachal enter Ladakh beyond Sarchu, the border of Himachal and Ladakh.

Taxi and goods carrier associations of Leh do not allow any taxi or commercial vehicle from outside to ply on the roads in Ladakh, except for the Manali-Leh and Srinagar-Leh highway. However, motorbikes from Himachal had total access in Ladakh until 2013 after which they were allowed to run only between Manali and Leh. A fresh dispute involving detaining bikes from Manali in Leh and bikes from Leh in Manali by members of union has had its impact on tourism. The Ladakh Bikers Co-Operative Ltd (LBCL) has released a circular that it will not let any motorbike used for commercial activity enter Ladakh beyond Sarchu.

"We shall eat our bread and they (bike operators of Himachal) should eat their own bread," LBCL president Tashi said over phone from Leh adding that bikes from Leh will not go beyond Sarchu towards Manali and their association will not allow any bike from Manali to enter Ladakh. "Members of bike association in Manali detained our bikes. They don't want our bikes on Leh-Manali road."

Manali Bikers Association president Keshav Thakur said their bikes were refused entry into Pangong, Nubra, Tso Moriri and interiors of Ladakh over which the association was cooperating. "I received information from Leh that locals of Ladakh have detained our bikes and snatched their keys. The bikes were returned after efforts. We had to involve police to solve the matter. They did this twice in June. We want to work together. Their bikes are welcome in Manali. But we want cooperation from them," Thakur said.